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EPA Awards $2.6 million to Protect Mid-Atlantic Region Wetlands. Delaware Project Among Six to be Funded

Release Date: 10/02/2014
Contact Information: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / [email protected]

DOVER (October 2, 2014) – EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin announced today at an event in Dover, Delaware, that EPA has awarded a total of $2,642,270 in Wetland Program Development Grants to six recipients in EPA’s Mid-Atlantic region.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environment Control (DNREC), one of the recipients, was awarded $443,233 that will help the state prepare for changing coastal conditions as well as managing wetland resources statewide.

“Wetlands are one of our nation’s most unique ecosystems and they play a significant role in protecting our nation’s water supply,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “By committing to protect and restore these valuable resources, DNREC is in the forefront of keeping our lakes, rivers and streams clean.”

Among its goals, Delaware plans to develop a wetlands condition report for the Smyrna River watershed; assess the response of wetlands to sea level rise, climate change and land use changes in the entire Delaware Estuary; and assess the condition of tidal and nontidal wetlands in the C&D Canal-Red Lion Creek Watershed.

The Clean Water Act recognizes the dangers of having pollution upstream. As water flows downstream, it carries pollutants with it. And because wetlands are instrumental in eliminating pollution, they have a huge impact on water downstream.

Grant recipients also included the Maryland Department of Environment ($37,500), the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources ($400,000), Pennsylvania State University ($668,764), the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences ($392,773) and the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources ($700,000).

Wetland Program Development Grants are used to build and refine comprehensive wetland programs, with priority given to funding projects that address the three priority areas identified by the EPA: developing a comprehensive monitoring and assessment program; improving the effectiveness of compensatory mitigation; and refining the protection of vulnerable wetlands and aquatic resources.

For more information about the wetlands grant program, go to: http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/wetlands/grantguidelines/index.cfm